Elevation (ft): 10,200ft to 12,600ft
Distance: 9km
Habitat: Moorland
Toss. Turn. Shiver.
Turn. Toss. Scoot down to the bottom of my sleeping bag and attempt to fashion a pillow out of scrunched up sleeping bag.
Toss. Turn. Overheat and take my hat off.
Turn. Toss. Shiver.
It felt like I had only just fallen asleep when I heard Samson's voice outside my tent: "Jenneeferrrrr...". Samson was our wake-up call every morning, with him always addressing the three of us by my protracted, tri-syllabic name, and the three of us always happy to have his cheerful voice as our alarm. This morning, like the rest, he came bearing a flask of hot water, a tray of tea bags, Nescafe (instant coffee), Milo and sugar so we could concoct the drink of our choice as we readied ourselves in our tents. He also brought a basin full of hot water for washing - or as Robert called it, "touching the water."
It felt like I had only just fallen asleep when I heard Samson's voice outside my tent: "Jenneeferrrrr...". Samson was our wake-up call every morning, with him always addressing the three of us by my protracted, tri-syllabic name, and the three of us always happy to have his cheerful voice as our alarm. This morning, like the rest, he came bearing a flask of hot water, a tray of tea bags, Nescafe (instant coffee), Milo and sugar so we could concoct the drink of our choice as we readied ourselves in our tents. He also brought a basin full of hot water for washing - or as Robert called it, "touching the water."
It was during breakfast on our chilly but precipitation-free morning that we had cup casualty and "injury" number one, a result of the extreme temperature differential between Matt's glass mug and the hot water poured into it. Crack. Spill. Burn. Cut. Bleed. He took it like a champ.
Another part of our morning routine - filling up our water bottles and CamelBaks with water obtained from streams and waterfalls and treated with AquaSafe, UHMG's water treatment product. Matt and I gave in to Kaylan's endearingly paranoid request that we use 2 water tablets per jerrycan.
Tip for future climbers: Invest in a daypack with a CamelBak. Kay and Matt both had them, whereas I had 3 Sigg water bottles and a whole lot of CamelBak envy. When attempting to maintain a steady hiking pace, carry two hiking poles, and drink 3-4 litres of water each day, it's a pain in the shoulder to keep reaching around to the side pocket of your backpack to get your Sigg out, unscrew the cap, tip your head back, drink, re-screw, and get it back in the pocket.
Another option: a CamelBak water bottle with a straw, where you get to eliminate the unscrew/tip/drink/re-screw steps of that process and just bite the tip of the straw. Fortunately, Kay had also brought one of these, so I stole it. 
In other camelback news, I turned back into a camel an hour or so into the hike. Much to our dismay, down came the rain and on went the poncho.
Tip: Invest in everything Goretex so that you, too, do not end up looking like the Hunchback of Kilimanjaro in all of your pictures. 
Compared to the muddy forest of the day before, today's terrain made us feel like we were actually on a mountain. Gone were the man-made steps that appeared frequently along yesterday's trail. The trail now was much rockier and noticeably steeper, punctuated by streams and waterfalls. We came upon several stunning viewpoints...or at least what we think were stunning viewpoints. We couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of us.
Before Kili, the combined total of our climbing experience was limited to the the couple hour hike up Rogers Rock at Lake George in the Adirondacks every summer, and my "hikes" around Kampala's hills to break in my boots. Thus, we gleaned as much as we could from eavesdropping on others giving tips along the way. Today, for instance, we overheard the value of rest steps. Do like the flower girl does - step so your whole foot hits the ground evenly at the same time (not heel-ball), lock out your back knee, and take that millisecond opportunity to rest on your bone structure. Best overheard quote of the day: "Porter? I hardly even know her."
We hid in a cave for lunch, where our frozen fingers increased the level of difficulty of the egg-peeling process, and the lengthy egg-peeling process increased the amount of finger freezing.
Once we arrived at Shira Camp, we teabreaked with mandazi (donuts) and popcorns, then settled in for a nap. Over dinner, Matt and I took the opportunity to make fun of Kaylan's camo headlamp, and Kay and I of Matt's choice of hot water for his nightly beverage.
I wasn't about to endure another night of no body heat, so I moved in with Kay and Matt. Permanently. We fell asleep playing a game of 20 questions, snug as three bugs in a shiny gold sleeping bag.
We hid in a cave for lunch, where our frozen fingers increased the level of difficulty of the egg-peeling process, and the lengthy egg-peeling process increased the amount of finger freezing.
Once we arrived at Shira Camp, we teabreaked with mandazi (donuts) and popcorns, then settled in for a nap. Over dinner, Matt and I took the opportunity to make fun of Kaylan's camo headlamp, and Kay and I of Matt's choice of hot water for his nightly beverage.I wasn't about to endure another night of no body heat, so I moved in with Kay and Matt. Permanently. We fell asleep playing a game of 20 questions, snug as three bugs in a shiny gold sleeping bag. 
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1 comment:
They were just jealous of the camo headlamp!
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